The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.10

by · The Markets Daily

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR – Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.10 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, January 8th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd.

Progressive has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years. Progressive has a payout ratio of 2.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Progressive to earn $15.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 2.6%.

Progressive Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:PGR traded up $2.91 on Tuesday, hitting $226.07. 1,549,360 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,251,694. The company has a market cap of $132.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $225.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $243.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Progressive has a 52 week low of $199.90 and a 52 week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at $50,956,523.52. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total transaction of $307,050.05. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,698 shares in the company, valued at $6,323,176.42. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,673 shares of company stock valued at $4,163,005. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter valued at about $2,156,939,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in Progressive by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,384,082,000 after purchasing an additional 6,045,732 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 61.4% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,362,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,174,632 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,928,141,000 after purchasing an additional 2,709,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Progressive by 26.1% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,757,905,000 after buying an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.

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